Currently, materials such as scrap metal need to be transported between different locations for manufacturing, processing, recycling, etc. For example, the initial location can be the primary source of the scrap metal. At a factory or manufacturing site, a metalworking process such as stamping or drawn and ironing for containers may result in scrap metal or excess material that is no longer necessary to create the finished product. This scrap metal can accumulate at the factory or manufacturing site. The scrap metal may subsequently need to be transported to a second site for several reasons. The company operating the factory or manufacturing site may seek to recoup material costs or use the scrap metal for another metalworking process. In addition, the company may seek to improve its sustainability by reducing waste. Regardless of the particular reason or reasons, the company needs to transport the scrap metal, or other material, to a second location, thus requiring trucks or rail and the inherent additional costs associated with the loading and transporting of the material.
Pallets are commonly utilized at industrial locations for transporting materials and components. Pallets provide a common surface for handling so that, for example, a forklift can pick up a pallet and load the pallet onto a truck. Without pallets, the forklift would have to load an engine, scrap metal, or other objects that have an irregular shape or are otherwise difficult to handle with the skids of a forklift. Straps can be utilized to secure the material to the pallet. Metal straps, tow straps, and other types of fasteners can secure an engine or other large piece of equipment to the pallet.
Straps may also be used to retain smaller materials such as metal scrap so that the metal scrap is secured to the pallet. In one example, scrap metal bricks weighing 20-30 lbs. each are created at the initial location. An overhead clamp can place six of these bricks together on a wooden pallet where the six bricks are secured together with straps. Additional layers can be added on top of the strapped-together bricks, and once assembled, the layers of scrap metal and pallets can be strapped together for a final securing of the materials. This aggregate or scrap material and the pallets can be loaded using a forklift or an overhead clamp and shipped to a second location for processing. The second location can be a recycling plant where the scrap metal is melted or reduced for future use.
One issue with current systems and methods for transporting materials is that the pallets and straps are different materials than the scrap materials that are being transported. As noted above, the pallets may be wooden and the straps may be synthetic tow straps. Therefore, when the materials, pallets, and straps arrive at the second location, the pallets and straps must be separated from the materials before the materials can be processed. This adds time and expense to the processing of the materials. Further, the straps may only be used once, and the pallets may quickly deteriorate after continuous use, which lessens the benefit of recycling or sustainability. There is also inherent instability when materials are strapped together on a pallet where the center of gravity can shift during transportation, which can cause the entire combination to fall or tip over and present inherent design risks. Further still, when collecting aggregate metallic material on a pallet, the top surface of the aggregate metallic material is uneven. As a result, stacking a flat bottom surface of a pallet onto another pallet of uneven aggregate metallic material becomes inherently difficult or impossible. Therefore, there is a need to improve the transportation of aggregate metallic materials and to remove the use of pallets and straps.